> If IP addresses were considered PII, then no routers database or Whois registries could legally exist, which would mean to a larger extent Internet routing co

> If IP addresses were considered PII, then no routers database or Whois registries could legally exist, which would mean to a larger extent Internet routing could not exist as we know it. I think this statement is misinformed. There are countries that have rules around protecting PII. WHOIS implementations have changed as a result, but I think these laws have carve outs that allow routers to function. The laws are more nuanced than this. Examples: ICANN adopted tiered access for gTLD registration information: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/gtld-registration-data-specs-en https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/gtld-registration-data... EU courts believe that IP addresses, even dynamic IP addresses, can indirectly identify a person: http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=184668&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=1034974 http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&doc... GDPR, however has a carve out that I think permits use by internet routers. One legal justification is: > Processing is necessary to satisfy a contract to which the data subject is a party. If my ISP doesn't announce my IP address, then they can't connect me to the internet, which I pay them to do.